Saddle up for a Wild West family adventure starting with a relaxing afternoon together in Salt Lake City before meeting your travel companions for a rootin’ tootin’ evening Kick-off Party with your Travel Director.
Put on your cowboy hats, pull up your boots and get ready to make memories that will last a lifetime. Experience the rich history and culture of the world’s most humble vegetable – the potato! Visitors to the Idaho Potato Museum will learn about the many facets of the potato industry from planting and irrigation to harvesting and processing. There’s no place better to showcase potatoes than in “The Potato Capital of the World,” Blackfoot, Idaho! Followed by a potato-themed lunch including potato ice cream! Then its off to to Jackson Hole, walk through the town's famous landmark arch of tangled elk antlers and step back in time as you explore the Town Square with its Western boardwalks, craft boutiques and ice cream shops-all surrounded by the majestic Rockies.
Family fun awaits every day of this trip and today is no exception. If the season is right, today is your chance to get out on the water for some adventures. Rise early to float down the Snake River on an optional, scenic wilderness float trip. It’s the most relaxing way to experience the river as you learn about its history, geology, and wildlife from an expert. guide. Later, discover dramatic shimmering peaks of the Teton Range rising above alpine forests and lakes in the iconic Grand Teton National Park. Travel onward to your hotel for the night.
Today you’ll enjoy a full day’s exploration of the geothermal wonderland of Yellowstone. You’ll join your Travel Director, marvelling at Old Faithful, the thousand-year old geyser which has been shooting up water every 90 minutes for centuries. We aim to explore as much of the park’s geological wonders, stopping at Lake Yellowstone, which contains the largest number of wild cutthroat trout in North America. see the wonders of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone whose colours and shapes are a sight to behold. We’ll also view Artists Point, a view point from which you watch in awe as water cascades down the Lower Falls. Our last stop on our Yellowstone exploration is the Mud Volcano home to Dragon Mouth's Spring. After a full day of sightseeing, enjoy a three course dinner at your hotel.
You’ll get a glimpse into “Spirit of the West” at the Buffalo Bill Center for the West museum complex. As you wander through this huge set of exhibits you’ll feel like you’ve been transported back to a time of cowboys and cowgirls, lawmen and brave Native American warriors. The complex includes the Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indians Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Drapter and Natural History Museum. The museum was founded in 1917 and today holds over 50,000 artifacts. The Museum has been part of the Smithsonian Affiliate Membership Program for the past 15 years.
This morning we make our way to Gillette in Wyoming and enjoy a Be My Guest lunch at the Durham Bison Ranch. You will be treated to a tour of the 55,000 acre farm housing over 3,000 bison. Next we travel to South Dakota, making a stop at the base of the Crazy Horse Memorial. You’ll gaze in awe of this colossal carved tribute to Crazy Horse, which you’ll learn is the largest mountain carving in the world.
Visit the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, the perfect place to get yourself oriented for your morning visit of Badlands National Park. Learn about the rich earth science, wildlife, history, and more. Explore museum exhibits, visit a working Fossil Preparation Lab, or stop by the park bookstore. Later in the afternoon, enjoy a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience with a visit to the Oglala Lakota Living History Village. It is the entry point to the beautiful landscape of the past and present culture, and of indigenous knowledge of Lakota Country on Pine Ridge Reservation. Walk on the trails through displays of living quarters from approximately the 1870’s to the 1960’s with a local guide. Local native artists provide an insight of the culture and tradition through their crafts and storytelling. Your visit contributes to the sustainability and resiliency of the Lakota community.
Today, head for the famous Black Hills of South Dakota to view the giant faces of former American presidents etched in the stone cliffs of Mount Rushmore. This evening, join your fellow adventurers at a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience and Farewell Dinner featuring your guide Stephen Yellowhawk (or another tribe member).
Travel to Denver, where you can extend your stay or make your way to Denver International Airport for your flight home.
Prices shown are per person based on two people sharing a twin room. To request a personalized travel quote, click "Request Quote" and a Travel Specialist will send your custom quote including airfare if requested.
Optional Experiences are subject to change. Your Travel Director will supply you with a final list of Optional Experiences available on your trip. Optional Experiences cannot be booked online; they can be purchased during your trip through your Travel Director.
Available on Day 3
This gentle 10-mile float trip runs entirely within Grand Teton National Park and covers the most scenic stretch of the Snake River in the Jackson Hole Valley. The Snake River is a lifeline to the park’s bison, elk, moose, beaver, pronghorn, deer, bear and 300 different species of birds, including osprey and eagles. Your experienced guide offers in-depth information on the geology of the Grand Tetons and the habitats of the animals you may see. Although we can’t guarantee multiple animal sightings, your chances of spotting wildlife on the Snake River – with its lush willows to feed on and deep-water pools for animals to swim in – are greater here than anywhere else in the park. Operates late May – mid-Sep, subject to weather conditions.
Adult Price: $93
Available on Day 7
Join a park ranger at Mount Rushmore’s outdoor amphitheater for this moving patriotic program and sculpture lighting ceremony. The program begins with a short inspirational talk, focusing on the presidents, patriotism and the nation’s history, and is followed by a 20-minute film, “Freedom: America’s Lasting Legacy.” Watch in wonder as the evening culminates in the slow exposure of light to the monument until it is fully illuminated. Be sure to bundle up as the evenings can be cool. Operates seasonally, starting at 9pm.
Adult Price: $26
Available on Day 8
Custer State Park is known for its beauty and serenity, but it is also a wildlife reserve that is home to a famous herd of 1,500 free-roaming bison plus elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mountain lions and feral burros. On this 90-minute scenic tour of the backcountry, you’ll get up close and personal with herds of buffalo and other species as your jeep driver and guide offer historical and educational information about the park and wildlife. Start with a guided off-road buffalo safari jeep tour through the park in search of pronghorns, elk, and the noble buffalo. Along the way, guides will share historical and educational facts about the park and wildlife—and help you spot the animals.
Adult Price: $60